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Prevalence and Childhood Precursors of Opioid Use in the Early Decades of Life

Educational Objective
To document age-related changes in opioid use and study the childhood antecedents of opioid use by age 30 years in 6 domains of childhood risk: sociodemographic characteristics; school or peer problems; parental mental illness, drug problems, or legal involvement; substance use; psychiatric illness; and physical health.
1 Credit CME
Key Points

Question  How common is opioid use in the early decades of life, and which childhood risk factors are associated with opioid use in young adulthood?

Findings  This cohort study assessed opioid use among 1252 non-Hispanic White individuals and American Indian individuals in rural counties in the central Appalachia region of North Carolina from January 1993 to December 2015. By age 30 years, approximately one-quarter of participants had used opioids, and the findings revealed that childhood tobacco use and depression were associated with later nonheroin opioid use in general, weekly nonheroin opioid use, and heroin use.

Meaning  Childhood tobacco use and depression may be associated with impaired reward system functioning, which may increase young adults’ vulnerability to opioid-associated euphoria.

Abstract

Importance  Opioid use disorder and opioid deaths have increased dramatically in young adults in the US, but the age-related course or precursors to opioid use among young people are not fully understood.

Objective  To document age-related changes in opioid use and study the childhood antecedents of opioid use by age 30 years in 6 domains of childhood risk: sociodemographic characteristics; school or peer problems; parental mental illness, drug problems, or legal involvement; substance use; psychiatric illness; and physical health.

Design, Setting, and Participants  This community-representative prospective longitudinal cohort study assessed 1252 non-Hispanic White individuals and American Indian individuals in rural counties in the central Appalachia region of North Carolina from January 1993 to December 2015. Data were analyzed from January 2019 to January 2020.

Exposures  Between ages 9 and 16 years, participants and their parents were interviewed up to 7 times using the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Assessment and reported risk factors in 6 risk domains.

Main Outcomes and Measures  Participants were assessed again at ages 19, 21, 25, and 30 years for nonheroin opioid use (any and weekly) and heroin use using the structured Young Adult Psychiatric Assessment.

Results  Of 1252 participants, 342 (27%) were American Indian. By age 30 years, 322 participants had used a nonheroin opioid (24.2%; 95% CI, 21.8-26.5), 155 had used a nonheroin opioid weekly (8.8%; 95% CI, 7.2-10.3), and 95 had used heroin (6.6%; 95% CI, 5.2-7.9). Childhood risk markers for later opioid use included male sex, tobacco use, depression, conduct disorder, cannabis use, having peers exhibiting social deviance, parents with legal involvement, and elevated systemic inflammation. In final models, childhood tobacco use, depression, and cannabis use were most robustly associated with opioid use in young adulthood (ages 19 to 30 years). Chronic depression and dysthymia were strongly associated with any nonheroin opioid use (OR. 5.43; 95% CI, 2.35-12.55 and OR, 7.13; 95% CI, 1.99-25.60, respectively) and with weekly nonheroin opioid use (OR, 8.89; 95% CI, 3.61-21.93 and OR, 11.51; 95% CI, 3.05-42.72, respectively). Among young adults with opioid use, those with heroin use had the highest rates of childhood psychiatric disorders and comorbidities.

Conclusions and Relevance  Childhood tobacco use and chronic depression may be associated with impaired reward system functioning, which may increase young adults’ vulnerability to opioid-associated euphoria. Preventing and treating early substance use and childhood mental illness may help prevent later opioid use.

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CME Disclosure Statement: Unless noted, all individuals in control of content reported no relevant financial relationships. If applicable, all relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

Article Information

Accepted for Publication: July 20, 2020.

Published Online: December 28, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.5205

Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License. © 2020 Shanahan L et al. JAMA Pediatrics.

Corresponding Author: Lilly Shanahan, PhD, Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development, University of Zurich, Andreasstrasse 15, PO Box 12, CH-8050 Zurich, Switzerland (lilly.shanahan@jacobscenter.uzh.ch).

Author Contributions: Dr Shanahan had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Shanahan, Hill, Godwin, Gaydosh, Harris, Copeland.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Shanahan, Bechtiger, Steinhoff, Godwin, Gaydosh, Harris, Dodge, Copeland.

Drafting of the manuscript: Shanahan.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: All authors.

Statistical analysis: Shanahan, Godwin.

Obtained funding: Shanahan, Harris, Dodge, Copeland.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Bechtiger, Steinhoff, Harris, Copeland.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.

Funding/Support: This research was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (grant R01MH117559) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (grants R01DA036523 and R01DA11301).

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Disclaimer: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

AMA CME Accreditation Information

Credit Designation Statement: The American Medical Association designates this Journal-based CME activity activity for a maximum of 1.00  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to:

  • 1.00 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;;
  • 1.00 Self-Assessment points in the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery’s (ABOHNS) Continuing Certification program;
  • 1.00 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program;
  • 1.00 Lifelong Learning points in the American Board of Pathology’s (ABPath) Continuing Certification program; and
  • 1.00 credit toward the CME [and Self-Assessment requirements] of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program

It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting MOC credit.

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